Content Marketing Series: Why Good Content is the Best Inbound Marketing Strategy

Content Marketing. Is your website as
entertaining as a one-man band?

When most people think of online marketing they immediately turn to online banner ads, paid search advertising, email marketing or maybe even search engine optimization.

More and more, however, the most significant source of valuable online visibility and inbound website traffic originates from great content. 

The debate is long-standing at this point; some live by the standard of "content is king", while many others believe that simply building website traffic en masse will result in success. But where we may once have been able to float by without any sort of "valuable" content, the nature of the web and the average user's expectations are evolving.

People expect to be entertained or informed on the web, no matter what they are doing. There's just too much good stuff out there.

So, unless a user is specifically looking for something and are ready to buy, if you haven't put thought, effort and resources behind consistently building good content, chances are your website and web presence are falling short of these expectations. In fact, even when a user is looking to buy, it's more likely that the company with interesting content will get the nod over your website.

In the Content Marketing Blog Series, I hope to outline all of the ways companies can plan, build, and distribute great content for sustainable online results.

What do I mean when I talk about great content and content marketing? Well, great content can be just about anything that holds some value to your online audience. Videos, articles, blogs, downloadable guides, white papers, interactive tools, charts, infographics; the list goes on.

But  first, why do you need Content Marketing?

Add great content and
encourage sharing

1. Let's start with what we've already discussed: users love great, entertaining or otherwise informative or valuable content online. A website should do more than just drive sales and have an "about us" page. It should give users something of value and provide a memorable experience. Without interesting or entertaining content, your website is forgettable.
2. Great content builds sharing. With good content, your paid advertising becomes less essential, and your inbound marketing portfolio becomes much more diversified and reliable. This happens because  of sharing. Resonant content is content that your audience wants to share with others, thereby building rich, qualified organic traffic. Content also gives your audience something to talk about, thus developing a deeper brand awareness online for your audience niche.
3. Valuable content builds return traffic. A forgettable website is just that - forgettable - which means the likelihood of users returning is low. If your website can drive return visitation, you are bringing qualified users back to your website, presumably for free, likely resulting in sales or follow up actions.
4. Search engines love content. It's no secret that Google and company love deep, rich, and frequently updated content, which is why a content marketing strategy can have positive impact on your search engine results.
5. Engaging content means a more powerful brand impact. Visitors that view your content will be more likely to spend valuable time with your brand, resulting in stronger, more positive brand experience. This could result in a higher brand favorability and memorability, even outside of the web.
6. Great content can position your brand as a leader. If your competitors aren't already incorporating content marketing into their online strategies, your efforts can help establish your brand as the online thought leader in your category. This type of credibility increases the position of your company in users' minds, resulting in more leads and sales due to credibility.
7. Content drives sales. In addition to everything else, great content can boost sales, leads and actions by helping to inform your audience on important related materials. By giving users valuable information you are more likely to capture email addresses, encourage downloads and drive prolonged interest, especially for longer consideration sets.
8. Give your brand some creative freedom. Many times companies view their website as a space to explain who they are and what they do in the driest way possible. New content strategies provide creative freedom to break down those walls and give your brand some new avenues to build your brand.

It's easy to get visitors into your site - all you need are some paid search ads or banners, and a media budget. But great content and a content marketing strategy will build low-cost, long-term traffic that will result in greater sales/leads and a more positive website brand experience. 

In part two, we'll discuss the different types of content, and how to select the right ones for your brand.